Never Apologise: A Personal Visit With Lindsay Anderson

Friday 2 November 2007 19.46 EDT
First published on Friday 2 November 2007 19.46 EDT

A concert movie, lasting almost two hours, of Malcolm McDowell's one-man show about Anderson ought to be a nightmare of luvvyish self-indulgence. Instead it's gossipy, affectionate and fun, although the picture of the great director is a little fuzzy. Anderson and McDowell's joint big break was the Palme d'Or-winning movie If ... in 1968, the success of which liberated Anderson's natural imperious flair. There's a funny sequence as McDowell reads aloud, in full, Anderson's magnificently unapologetic letter of apology to Alan Bates, whom he had insulted at a party. We get a sense of the frustration, as well as success in Anderson's career.